The World Cup can begin!

The long wait is over. The World Cup opening match between Qatar and Ecuador will finally take place on Sunday afternoon at 5:00 p.m. German time.

Although the two teams do not represent the highest level of international football in terms of name and reputation, this duel holds a lot of explosiveness and excitement. Probably only the winner of the opening match in Group A can continue to hope for a ticket to the last 16.

In order to make a prediction on the outcome of the match between Qatar and Ecuador, we need a detailed introduction and analysis of both teams. In addition, the open questions must be clarified as to what influence the climate has, whether the home bonus will actually be a decisive advantage or whether the young South Americans are so strong in terms of quality that they can start with a sense of achievement in the 60,000-seater Al-Bayt Stadium in al-Chaur?

Bookmakers have struggled to assign favourites ahead of this first of 64 World Cup matches. Between Qatar and Ecuador, the forecast on La Tri is nevertheless slightly lower, with coach Gustavo Alfaro’s team slightly ahead. However, the hosts should by no means be underestimated; after all, no other national team has had such a pronounced and focused preparation for this major event as the Qataris.

By the way: We think it is unlikely that the trend of many goals in a World Cup opening match will continue. While in the last four opening matches since 2006 a total of 17 goals were scored, i.e. an average of 4.25 per match, the first opening match since 1982, which falls on a Sunday, is likely to be less goal-filled.

Qatar – Statistics & current form

The biggest highlight of the Qatari national team’s career awaits them. For the first time ever, the small country, which has less than three million inhabitants and stretches just 180 kilometres from north to south, is represented at a World Cup. The host is thus the only debutant in the select field of 32 World Cup participants.

The main thing is to introduce the team and get a feeling for whether the South Asians can really cause one or two surprises. The fact that only one home team, South Africa, was eliminated in the preliminary round in 2010, speaks in favour of the red wine team. So if you want to place a bet on the Qataris making it to the last 16, you can find high odds of 4.33 even before the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador.

Qatar with good results recently – against weak opponents

In terms of quality, the World Cup newcomer, whose squad players are all under contract at home, is certainly one of the weakest teams at the upcoming finals. Nevertheless, there are various arguments that suggest that the 50th-ranked team in the world should not be taken lightly. For example, the Qataris were crowned the new Asian champions in 2019 and have also lost only two of their last 13 international matches.

In preparation for the home tournament, the players from the Gulf state scored a 2-0 win over Albania just over a week ago. In September, they already underwent a training camp of several weeks in Austria, which included a 2-2 draw against Chile and a 2-0 defeat against Canada.

Qatar will be looking for success through a stable defence

The team of Spanish coach Felix Sanchez, who has been in charge since 2017 and used to work as FC Barcelona’s youth coach, is therefore perhaps a little more well-rehearsed than others, knows the climatic conditions like no other participant and will nevertheless, in our eyes, have technical-tactical problems at this level. Against this backdrop, we will not make a prediction in the direction of the hosts between Qatar and Ecuador and tend towards a success for the South Americans.

In terms of personnel, we assume that the Qataris will initially focus on defence with a five-man backline. Abdelkarim Hassan, a man with 130 international caps to his name, will lead the defence. On the offensive, hopes rest on Almoez Ali, who was the team’s top scorer at the aforementioned 2019 Asian Cup with nine goals and only needed ten shots on goal to do so. Together with Akram Afif, who has already played in Spain’s and Belgium’s first division, the two are expected to provide pinpricks.

Predicted Qatar line-up:
Al-Sheeb; Miguel, Al-Wari, Salman, Hassan, Ahmed; Hatem, Boudiaf; Al-Haydos; Ali, Afif

Last matches played by Qatar:

Friendly matches
10/11/2022 – Albania 0 – 1 Qatar

06/11/2022 – Qatar 2 – 1 Panama

27/10/2022 – Qatar 1 – 0 Honduras

23/10/2022 – Qatar 2 – 0 Guatemala

27/09/2022 – Qatar 2 – 2 Chile

Ecuador – Statistics & current form

For the fourth time in total, the Ecuadorian national team has qualified for the World Cup finals. Only in 2006 did La Tri make it to the round of 16. At that time, too, the yellow-blue-reds won their first group match against Poland 2:0, which makes it all the more important from the point of view of coach Gustavo Alfaro, who has held the job since 2020 and even wrote a book about his team’s journey to Qatar after the successful qualification. It is called “Hunters of Impossible Utopias”.

Generally speaking, the tricolours must be credited with an outstanding performance in CONMEBOL qualifying. They finished fourth behind Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay to book a direct ticket. They also had the second-best attack and the third-best defence of all South American teams. And this despite the fact that the starting eleven was the youngest on the continent, with an average age of less than 26.

Considering this remarkable qualification and the qualitative advantages over the hosts, we think the odds on the away win between Qatar and Ecuador contain an extremely passable value.

La Tri have not conceded a goal in eight months

However, the Ecuadorians, who traditionally pick up the majority of their qualifying points in front of a home crowd at an altitude of almost 3,000 metres, desperately need to improve their effectiveness. Seven of their last ten international matches have ended in draws. Three times in a row, La Tri played to a goalless draw. The dress rehearsal against Iraq also ended in a tired 0-0 draw.

On the positive side, the South Americans have not conceded a goal in six consecutive matches since March 2022. It might even be an option to bet on the visitors’ treble, including a clean sheet, before the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador. The odds for this are a respectable 3.40. Moreover, because in twelve of the past 13 matches with Ecuadorian participation the mark of more than two goals was never broken, sub-bets are also of interest. Be it as an additional combination option or as a single tip.

Ecuador’s squad is blessed with a lot of talent and class

There are some notable and very talented players in the line-up. Estupinan and Caicedo are already playing in the Premier League at Brighton at a young age, Carlos Gruezo is under contract at Augsburg in the Bundesliga and Hincapie from Bayer Leverkusen was also allowed to gain his first experience in the Champions League this season.

Gonzalo Plata, who was one of the most eye-catching players in Ecuador’s third-place finish at the 2019 World Cup at the age of just 22, could also make his mark on the match. So, incidentally, could veteran striker Enner Valencia, who scored three times at the 2014 World Cup and then toured Europe as a well-paid professional.

Predicted line-up of Ecuador:
Dominguez; Preciado, Torres, Hincapie, Estupinan; Gruezo, Caicedo, Cifuentes; Plata, Valencia, Ibarra

Last matches played by Ecuador:

Friendly matches
13/11/2022 – Ecuador 0 – 0 Iraq

27/09/2022 – Japan 0 – 0 Ecuador

24/09/2022 – Saudi Arabia 0 – 0 Ecuador

12/06/2022 – Ecuado 1 – 0 Cape Verde

06/06/2022 – Mexico 0 – 0 Ecuador

Qatar – Ecuador Direct comparison / H2H balance

So far, there are three friendly matches between these teams in the statistics. In October 2018, Qatar came away with a somewhat surprising 4-3 victory, with the South Americans having to play outnumbered twice after two red cards. The previous two matches took place in February 1996. Once with the better end for La Tri and once with a draw. The balance is now completely even.

Qatar – Ecuador tip

The Qatari national team has already played three times at the Al-Bayt Stadium in al-Chaur. Three times, the World Cup hosts have prevailed. However, on the one hand, these were always friendly matches. On the other hand, the opponents were not at the same level as Ecuador. The team that finished fourth in the South American World Cup qualifiers and has numerous professionals under contract in the top European leagues is, in our eyes, the favourite in this opening match.

The fact that lower betting odds are being offered on the success of Alfaro’s team ahead of the match between Qatar and Ecuador is therefore perfectly understandable. We also see the yellow-blue-reds with clear advantages on a sporting level. Moreover, the Ecuadorians are used to complicated climatic conditions from their own homeland.

We have therefore decided to place a bet on the success of the Ecuadorians between Qatar and Ecuador. The top odds of 2.45 promise a respectable value and are worth a stake of five units. Alternatively, you can even think about betting on a “nil” victory for the South Americans. If the visitors score the first goal of the 2022 World Cup